Thermal and tensile properties of aligned carbon nanofiber reinforced polypropylene

In the present study, vapor-grown carbon nanofibers with 0.5 wt.% loading were dry-mixed with polypropylene powder by mechanical means, and extruded into filaments by using a single screw extruder. TGA results showed that decomposition temperature has increased 18.9 degrees C by filling CNFs in polypropylene. Tensile results demonstrated that tensile modulus and tensile strength have increased by 154% and 69.5%, respectively. A SEM picture indicated that an increase in mechanical properties is due to the well dispersion and alignment of CNFs in the filaments. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.